The present invention relates to a case, fob or article for holding one or more credit cards, special value cards or other payment instrument, and particularly to a credit card case or fob that contains an integrated quick-release latch that may be unclipped readily from a key chain.
Suppliers of conventional credit cards and special value cards desire to have their particular card carried by the user in an accessible position outside of a wallet or a purse, for example on a key loop, key chain, or in a packet on a readily accessible device in order to increase the likelihood of usage of the card. The advantage of having the card accessible outside of a wallet or purse is that the user has the card available at his or her fingertips instead of having to open a purse or wallet and make a choice to use a particular card or payment instrument from among several possible choices.
In order to protect credit cards from theft of the card itself or the card number when the card is carried on a key chain, cases or fobs have been developed for concealing the card. The person using the card normally opens the case, container or fob without unclipping it from the key chain in order to pivot the card to an accessible position so that the card may be swiped through a magnetic card reader or, a radio frequency reader or other identification system. There are occasions, however, when, in order to use the card, the case or container must be removed from the key chain. For example, it may be necessary to unclip the case from the chain in order to access the case for use at a fast food drive-in when a key on the chain is in the ignition of a car. Prior key chain cases typically require stopping the car engine, removing the key from the ignition, and using two hands to remove the case or container from the key chain. There is a need therefore to provide a credit card case with an integrated quick-release latch that can be more easily removed from a key chain in order to gain access to the case or to the credit card.